How many bodies have been found in Lady Bird Lake? Here’s what we know.

Alexis Simmerman and Fernanda Figueroa, Austin American-Statesman
Updated ·3 min read
22
Pedestrians use a trail near where a body was found Monday in Lady Bird Lake near the South First Street bridge.
Pedestrians use a trail near where a body was found Monday in Lady Bird Lake near the South First Street bridge.

The body of a deceased person was found in Lady Bird Lake on Saturday. This is the third death discovered in or near the popular lake in 2024.

Here's what we know.

Dead body found in Lady Bird Lake on Saturday

Austin-Travis County EMS and Austin Police found a body in Lady Bird Lake near Longhorn Dam on Saturday morning.

During a media briefing, Officer Austin Zarling said APD along with ATCEMS responded to a check-welfare call at 7:37 a.m. at Krieg Field, 515 S. Pleasant Valley Road. He said a fisherman had called after seeing a body floating in Lady Bird Lake. Zarling said the victim was pronounced dead at 7:52 a.m.

Although the APD's homicide detectives have opened an investigation, the death is not being investigated as a homicide.

APD reports it appears to be an isolated incident and poses no threat to the general public.

As of Monday morning, the identity of the deceased individual had not yet been released.

People are also reading: Austin rescue crews find body in Lady Bird Lake near Longhorn Dam

How many bodies have been found in Lady Bird Lake?

At least 12 bodies have been recovered from the central Texas lake and the surrounding area in the last 22 months. The 11th body was found just four days before Saturday's event.

Here's a list of reported deaths related to Lady Bird Lake:

Austin-Travis County EMS discovered the body on April 9 while conducting a welfare check near the Lamar Boulevard Bridge. The deceased person was not in the lake itself, and the cause of death was suspected to involve cardiac arrest.

April 9: Austin police investigating body found on banks of Lady Bird Lake in downtown

Despite the two most recent incidents not being investigated as homicides, there's been speculation about a serial killer in the Austin area.

These rumors were further fueled when true crime TV's Nancy Grace dedicated a 42-minute Crime Stories episode to the mysterious deaths.

"Look, you don't have to go to law school to figure out there's something very, very wrong at Lady Bird Lake," Grace says in the episode's opening.

Officer Ariel Crumes speaks to media near the site where the Austin Police Department responded to a report of a body in Lady Bird Lake near Downtown Austin on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024.
Officer Ariel Crumes speaks to media near the site where the Austin Police Department responded to a report of a body in Lady Bird Lake near Downtown Austin on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024.

At the Austin lake, four deaths were reported in 2022, and five were reported in 2023.

Saturday's discovery marks the third in 2024.

According to data gathered by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Inside Edition, KXAN and MySA, law enforcement determined no foul play was involved in four of these cases: This includes that of Ricky Parks, the first death recorded in July 2022, along with Christopher Gutierrez, Kyle Thornton and Christopher Hays-Clark.

More on Christopher Hays-Clark: 'We just want answers': Family of man pulled from Lady Bird Lake left in the dark

The shore of Lady Bird Lake is less than one hundred feet from the end of Rainey Street on Sunday April 2, 2023 in Downtown Austin. Two bodies have been recovered along the shore near Rainey Street and East Avenue in the past six weeks.
The shore of Lady Bird Lake is less than one hundred feet from the end of Rainey Street on Sunday April 2, 2023 in Downtown Austin. Two bodies have been recovered along the shore near Rainey Street and East Avenue in the past six weeks.

News outlets and police reports also show the deaths of Jason John and Johnathan Honey were caused by accidental drowning.

Only the case of Josue Moreno was determined to be homicide, when police determined he was shot while driving and his truck ended up in the water.

The cause of death for Clifton Axtell in August 2023 remains undetermined, according to KXAN.

People are also reading: A serial killer at Lady Bird Lake? Austin police say no foul play in latest death

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: How many bodies have been found in Lady Bird Lake? What we know.